Management and Services of the House of Commons Review

Frank Doran: To ask the hon. Member for North Devon, representing the House of Commons Commission what the Commission has decided on the implementation of the Tebbit review of management and services of the House.

Nick Harvey: In July the Commission agreed to fast track several areas of the Tebbit Review as detailed in my answer on 24 July 2007 (HC Deb 925W). Following the debate in Westminster Hall on 18 October and comments from the Finance and Services, Administration and Audit Committees, the Commission approved the following changes on 22 October.
	A new Management Board replaced the existing Board of Management with immediate effect. The Management Board consists of the Clerk, as Chief Executive and Chairman, four director generals with functional responsibilities, and up to two external advisors. The six House Departments other than PICT will be merged into four new Departments broadly aligned with the Director Generals' responsibilities. These will be:
	Department of Chamber and Committee Services—incorporating Clerk's Department,  Hansard and core elements of the Serjeant's Department;
	Department of Information Services—incorporating the Library and allied information services;
	Department of Resources—incorporating Finance and Administration;
	Department of Facilities—incorporating Estates and Works, Accommodation Services and Refreshment Department.
	These new Departments will come into effect on 1 January 2008. A recruitment exercise to fill the new post of Director General of Facilities will be put in place. Pending an appointment, the Commission has agreed that the Director of Catering Services will lead the work to create the new Department of Facilities.
	PICT will be formally vested as joint Department of the two Houses early in 2008. Pending a review in 2009 of the working of the Parliament (Joint Departments) Act 2007, the Director of PICT will attend the Management Board as one of its external members.
	The aim is to create a fully unified House Service that will provide Members and others with the highest standards of service. The changes are consistent with the approach recommended in the Tebbit report, but also address a number of issues on which the report did not reach a firm conclusion. The intention is that the changes will be cost neutral and there are no planned redundancies. I understand that consultation has begun with both staff and trade unions on how best to create the new Departments.

Schools: Finance

David Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what proportion of funding for schools is largely unrelated to school numbers; and if he will make a statement.

Jim Knight: I refer the right hon. Gentlemen to the answer given on 23 July 2007,  Official Report, column 880W.

Graduates: Higher Education

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Innovation, Universities and Skills 
	(1)  if he will commission an assessment of the benefits to  (a) individual students,  (b) businesses and  (c) the economy of graduates completing second degrees; and if he will make a statement;
	(2)  what advice is provided to graduates on the  (a) merits and  (b) mechanics of pursuing a second degree; and whether guidance is available on the choice of subject.

Bill Rammell: We have asked HEFCE to phase out the support it gives to institutions for students doing a second degree at an equivalent or lower level in order to redistribute around £100 million a year by 2010/11 towards our priorities. While there may be some benefit to individuals and their employers, in them retraining for a second qualification at the same level, it is generally fairer to both students and the taxpayer to give priority to those either entering higher education for the first time, or progressing to higher qualifications. All of the £100 million will be redistributed to support our priorities, including the challenges posed by Sandy Leitch around the proportion of the work force with graduate level skills from under 30 per cent. to over 40 per cent. by 2020. At the same time, we also published details of these changes and the rationale for them so that prospective students both with and without existing Higher Education qualifications can plan ahead in the knowledge of our priorities.

Police Custody

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice how much has been spent on reserving unused police cells under Operation Safeguard since October 2006.

David Hanson: The Department hasn't separated the costs of used and unused police cells under Operation Safeguard. Places identified for use on the basis of potential operational need are paid for whether they are used or not.
	The number of places used and the location of those places can vary on a day to day basis due to police and prison operational requirements.

Prisoners' Release

Edward Garnier: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice 
	(1)  what action is taken against prisoners who remain unlawfully at large until their scheduled release date after release on the End of Custody Licence Scheme;
	(2)  how many prisoners recalled to prison after release on the End of Custody Licence Scheme remained unlawfully at large until their scheduled release date.

David Hanson: Offenders who breach any condition of the End of Custody Licence (ECL) are liable to be recalled, and a revocation order revoking their licence will be issued. From the revocation issue date, until they are arrested and returned to custody, the offender remains unlawfully at large (UAL). This period of absence is not treated as part of the sentence served unless the Secretary of State directs that it should be. Therefore, when the prisoner is returned to custody, the sentence must continue to be served including any custodial days outstanding.
	All offenders whose End of Custody Licence is revoked are notified to the police local to the area to which the offender has been released. The police are committed to arresting and returning offenders to custody as quickly as possible.
	Data on ECL, including prisoners recalled, is published at the end of each month on the Ministry of Justice website. The August report, published on 28 September, states that of the 205 offenders notified to NOMS as recalled between 29 June and the end of August, 48 offenders had not been returned to custody by end of 21 September, and all of those have passed their scheduled release date.
	Information on the number of recalled offenders who have returned to custody and those who have not, as notified to NOMS, is reported monthly on the Ministry of Justice publications website.

Reoffenders

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what the re-offending rate was for prisoners who had served custodial sentences in the latest period for which figures are available; and what plans are in place to reduce it.

David Hanson: The latest available data for adult offenders discharged from custody in the first quarter of 2004 shows a 64.7 per cent. re-offending rate. The latest available data for juvenile offenders discharged from custody in the first quarter of 2005 shows a 76.2 per cent. rate of re-offending.
	The adult results show a 4.6 per cent. reduction in re-offending since 2000 and the juvenile results show a 2.8 per cent. reduction since 2000. Reductions in re-offending are measured by comparing the actual rate of proven re-offending to a predicted rate (which controls for changes in offenders characteristics) which is based on the results of the 2000 dataset.
	The following tables set out adult and juvenile results since 2000.
	
		
			  Adult 
			 Percentage change in re-offending 
			   Actual re-offending rate  Predicted re-offending rate  Increase  Reduction 
			 2000 64.8 — — — 
			 2002 67.5 67.2 0.4 — 
			 2003 65.9 67.4 — 2.2 
			 2004 64.7 67.8 — 4.6 
		
	
	
		
			  Juvenile 
			   Actual re-offending rate  Predicted re-offending rate  Percentage change in re-offending (reduction) 
			 2000 78 — — 
			 2004 78.2 (1)— — 
			 2005 76.2 78.4 2.8 
			 (1) Unavailable. 
		
	
	A great deal of work is being taken forward across Government to build on this success. Reducing re-offending is a key element of the new Home Office Crime Strategy "Cutting Crime: A New Partnership 2008-11". The new "Make Communities Safer" Public Service Agreement sets a target to both reduce adult and youth re-offending, and to reduce the level of serious re-offences. NOMS and DIUS will be producing an overarching Strategic Plan in spring 2008 to set out how the Government intend to meet this challenge and a consultation paper will be published shortly. Alongside this consultation, we will also be consulting on an Offender Health and Social Care Strategy and a NOMS Third Sector Action Plan. While these will focus on specific elements of work to reduce re-offending, they will support the overarching Strategic Plan, and underscore the Government's commitment to tackling re-offending holistically.
	The Youth Justice Boards (YJB) is working to reduce youth re-offending. The YJB has a scaled approach to youth justice interventions to ensure that youth offending services focus on those children and young people most likely to re-offend. The YJB has developed the assessment tool "Asset" which is used by all Youth Offending Teams (YOTs) to identify the risk factors driving offending behaviour and the protective factors that will support desistance. Asset is used to design a "multi modal" package of interventions to reduce risk factors and build up the protective factors. The Wiring-Up Youth Justice Programme is providing YOTs with the latest technology to improve the speed and quality of information transfer between YOTs, secure establishments and other key service providers.
	The new local government performance framework which contains six specific youth justice indicators (out of total of 197) provides YOTs with an excellent lever to encourage local authority chief executives to prioritise young offenders' access to services.
	The reducing re-offending agenda also makes important contributions to a number of other cross-Government PSAs including, PSA 16: Increase the proportion of socially excluded adults in settled accommodation, employment, education or training; PSA 25 Reduce the harm caused by Drugs and Alcohol and PSA 24: Deliver a more effective transparent and responsive Criminal Justice System for victims and the public.
	We are introducing new ways of measuring progress on reducing re-offending, which will include reducing the reporting time lag in the adult results from two years to one year and producing a metric to provide a more detailed understanding of the volume and seriousness of re-offences.

A38: Devon

Gary Streeter: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what progress her Department has made in ensuring that the alterations to the Deep Lane junction on the A38 in Devon will be carried out simultaneously with the development of a new town at Sherford.

Tom Harris: The Highways Agency is currently negotiating with developers and local authorities to identify the most appropriate improvements for the Deep Lane junction, in order to accommodate the new community at Sherford along with other nearby developments. The Highways Agency has exercised its powers under Article 14 of the Town and Country Planning Act to instruct the local planning authority not to grant planning consent to the development until the applicant has provided additional information enabling the Highways Agency to assess fully the impact of the proposals on the A38 trunk road. The Highways Agency will continue working with all the relevant parties, to ensure the improvement works are implemented in time to accommodate traffic generated by the new developments. The improvements have been identified as a priority for funding within the current regional funding allocation period.

Aircraft: Air Conditioning

Alan Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what recent assessment has she made of the health implications for aircraft passengers and crew of air quality in commercial aircraft; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: We commissioned the independent Committee on Toxicity (COT) to evaluate evidence submitted by the British Air Lines Pilots Association (BALPA) in relation to cabin air "fume events". The COT received extensive information from oil companies, airlines, engine manufacturers, independent scientific experts and campaign groups. The COT also reviewed previous studies of cabin air. The COT reported on 20 September 2007. The report is published on COT's website at www.advisorybodies.doh.gov.uk/cotnonfood/index.htm where there is a mass of material.
	The committee considered that it was not possible to conclude whether cabin air exposures (either general or following incidents) cause ill-health in commercial aircraft crews. It recommended further work, in particular and as a priority, to ascertain whether substances in the cabin environment during fume events could potentially be harmful to health. COT considered that this work should be designed to detect any potentially harmful substances, rather than focus on named substances.
	In keeping with its commitment to promoting healthy flying, the Department for Transport accepts this priority. We have recently been testing equipment which may be capable of capturing substances released during fume incidents. Subject to the results of this testing, the Department hopes to begin a study later this year or early next year.

London Gateway Port: Road Traffic

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment she has made of the impact of the London Gateway Port on road congestion in Essex; and if she will make a statement.

Jim Fitzpatrick: An assessment of the impact of the London Gateway port on road congestion in Essex was made as part of the Government decision giving consent for the port. The then Parliamentary Under Secretary of State (the hon. Member for Lincoln) was satisfied that the impact of additional road traffic in Essex resulting from the port would be adequately addressed by the proposed highway capacity improvements set out in undertakings given by the London Gateway port promoters to Essex county council.

Armed Forces

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what recent representations he has received from Royal British Legion members on the military covenant.

Derek Twigg: The Secretary of State and I both received letters dated 12 September, from Frances Done, then director general of the Royal British Legion, formally notifying the Ministry of Defence of the public launch of the 'Honour the Covenant' campaign on 13 September and setting out its principal concerns.
	Since the launch of the campaign, Ministers have received in excess of 200 representations from members of the public concerning the Military Covenant. A majority of these have used the proforma generated by the Royal British Legion or state that they are writing on its behalf but we do not know the exact number of the correspondents who are members.

Armed Forces: Racial Discrimination

Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what action the Government have taken to eradicate racism within the armed forces.

Bob Ainsworth: holding answer 22 October 2007
	The Royal Navy, Army and Royal Air Force have done a great deal in recent years to promote racial equality and continue to work hard to develop an organisational culture that welcomes racial diversity and places the highest priority on tackling racism. The armed forces respect and value every individual's unique contribution regardless of race, ethnic origin, religion, gender, social background or sexual orientation. The goal is to create a
	working environment free from harassment and unlawful discrimination, in which all have equal opportunity to realise their full potential. From 1997 to 2006, the armed forces worked in formal partnership with the Commission for Racial Equality to improve racial equality.
	The MOD published a race equality scheme (RES) in 2003 and subsequent reports about the scheme detail the range of measures that the armed forces have undertaken to improve racial equality. The RES was superseded in June 2006 by the Department's overarching equality and diversity scheme. The armed forces achievements in promoting racial equality were recognised when all three services finished in the top 10 in Business in the Community's annual Race for Opportunity annual benchmarking report for 2006.

Armed Forces: Weapons

Harry Cohen: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence what weapons and ammunition for which  (a) his Department and  (b) the armed forces have responsibility have gone missing in the last two years.

Bob Ainsworth: In answering this question the term 'weapons' is taken to be firearms and 'missing' is taken to include lost and stolen. Separate records are not maintained for other weapons and such information could be provided only at disproportionate cost.
	The number of firearms lost or stolen in the period 1 January 2005 until 1 October 2007 is 64. The breakdown is as follows:
	
		
			   Stolen  Recovered 
			  Automatic weapon   
			 2005 1 0 
			 2006 0 0 
			 2007 0 0 
			 Total 1 0 
			  Heavy arms (mortar etc.)   
			 2005 0 0 
			 2006 1 1 
			 2007 0 0 
			 Total 1 1 
			  Other weapon   
			 2005 13 0 
			 2006 1 1 
			 2007 1 1 
			 Total 15 2 
			  Pistol   
			 2005 5 2 
			 2006 8 2 
			 2007 5 1 
			 Total 18 5 
			  Rifle (mil)   
			 2005 9 2 
			 2006 12 0 
			 2007 4 1 
			 Total 25 3 
			  Shotgun   
			 2005 0 0 
			 2006 0 0 
			 2007 2 0 
			 Total 2 0 
			  Rifle   
			 2005 0 0 
			 2006 2 0 
			 2007 0 0 
			 Total 2 0 
			
			 Grand total 64 11 
		
	
	Thefts of weapons are investigated by the Service Police, Ministry of Defence Police or the Home Department Police, either jointly or independently.
	The MOD holds numerous types of ammunition. Although the loss and theft is recorded the information it is not held in the format requested and could be provided only at disproportionate cost.

Royal Irish Regiment

Jeffrey M Donaldson: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many full-time Royal Irish home service corporals and section commanders were on short service type S engagement contracts on  (a) 1 July 2000,  (b) 1 July 2002 and  (c) 1 July 2006.

Bob Ainsworth: This information is not readily available in the format requested. I will write to the hon. Member and place a copy of my letter in the Library of the House.

Service Children's Education: Standards

Nick Gibb: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many and what proportion of 11-year-olds in schools operated by Service Children's Education achieved level 4 in  (a) English,  (b) mathematics,  (c) science,  (d) reading,  (e) writing,  (f) reading and writing and  (g) reading, writing and mathematics in each year since 1997.

Derek Twigg: The information for 2005 and 2006 is shown in the table:
	
		
			  SCE Key Stage 2 Student Performance—Level 4 
			   2005  2006 
			  Subject  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 English 700 83 611 82 
			 Mathematics 634 75 598 79 
			 Science 749 89 696 92 
			 Reading 740 87 648 87 
			 Writing 550 65 495 67 
			 Reading and Writing 543 64 485 65 
			 Reading, Writing and Mathematics 488 58 450 60 
		
	
	Academic results for 2007 await formal validation. They will be published in the Service Children's Education Annual Report and Accounts, copies of which will be placed in the Library of the House in due course.
	I also refer the hon. Member to the answer given on 2 February 2006,  Official Report, columns 708-709W, by the then Under Secretary of State for Defence (Mr. Touhig) which gave answers for the years from 1997 to 2004.

Departmental Responsibilities: Offshore Industry

Bill Wiggin: To ask the Prime Minister pursuant to the answer of 16 October 2007,  Official Report, column 959W, on departmental responsibilities: offshore industry, what representations he received on the allocation of responsibilities for offshore oil, gas and energy consents; and if he will make a statement.

Gordon Brown: Since 27 June, my office has received approximately 200 representations on energy-related matters. Given the volume of correspondence I receive, thousands of letters each week covering a broad spectrum of issues, my office records letters by subject rather than by the view expressed.

Computer Software

Julia Goldsworthy: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the  (a) percentage of software by value procured using Open Source and  (b) percentage of software projects procured using Open Source in each of the last five years for which information is available;
	(2)  what plans he has to promote the use of Open Source IT by Government bodies; and what targets exist for the use of Open Source;
	(3)  what assessment his Department has made of the potential of Open Source software to produce efficiency savings;
	(4)  what steps have been taken following his Department's publication of Open Source Software Use Within UK Government in 2004; and if he will make a statement;
	(5)  which of the seven next steps listed on page six of his Department's publication Open Source Software Use Within UK Government published in 2004, have been implemented; and if he will make a statement;
	(6)  what advice has been issued by the Office of Government Commerce to departments on the use of Open Source information technology.

Gillian Merron: Government seeks the most cost-effective IT solutions. It tries to avoid mandating particular technologies so that suppliers can manage technology risks.
	Although Open Source can be cheaper to purchase it can also entail higher support and other costs. The additional costs or savings depend on the individual business requirement. This is supported by external studies which have not shown a consistent advantage to open source in these terms.
	The Government's policy on Open Source is to consider such solutions alongside proprietary ones in IT procurements and award contracts on a value for money basis; only use products for interoperability that support open standards and specifications in all future IT developments; seek to avoid lock-in to proprietary IT products and services; and consider obtaining full rights to bespoke software code or customisations of commercial off the shelf software it procures wherever this achieves best value for money.
	The Government have no targets to promote the use of Open Source except where it is the most cost-effective way of meeting its needs. Information on the total use and value of Open Source in government is not held centrally and could not be obtained except at disproportionate cost. However it does play an important role in major applications including websites such as Directgov; Electronic Vehicle Licensing; and Jobcentre Plus's system to help people to obtain jobs.
	Since 2004 we have continued to explore the use of Open Source to reduce total costs and improve the quality of business solutions. The security issues have been examined: some open source products have already passed information assurance certification. We have published the results of open source trials and can be found at:
	http://www.ogc.gov.uk/documents/CP0041OpenSourceSoftwareTrialReport.pdf.
	DTI and Research Councils have continued to work on Open Source issues in government-funded research (although no central records are held on individual projects).
	I would also refer the hon. Member to the speech given by my right hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary in Westminster Hall,  Official Report, columns 48-52WH.

Departments: Internet

Theresa May: To ask the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster how many  (a) unique visits there have been to the Have Your Say on the Government's Draft Legislative Programme section of the Cabinet Office website and  (b) unique visitors there have been to the Draft Legislative Programme section of the hmg.gov.uk website since 11 July 2007.

Gillian Merron: The Cabinet Office "Have your say" governance topic (http://haveyoursay.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/co/topic.aspx?topic=governance) received 1,348 unique visitors from its launch on 11 July 2007 to 21 October 2007.
	The Draft Legislative Programme section of the HMG website (http://www.hmg.gov.uk/draftlegislativeprogramme/index.asp) received 2,476 unique visitors from its launch on 4 September 2007 to 21 October 2007.

Departments: Reorganisation

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what the estimated cost of re-branding is expected to be following the formation of his Department.

Gareth Thomas: Costs to date associated with the use of the name of the new Department are approximately £77,000. These include the costs of design, items such as new signage and changes to the website and other electronic media. As promised in my answer to a question from my hon. Friend, the Member for Richmond Park, (Susan Kramer) on 17 July 2007,  Official Report, column 278W, we plan to provide a full account of extra expenditure relating to the establishment of the new Department to the Library of both Houses at the time of the winter supplementary estimates in November.

Departments: Road Traffic Offences

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform how many fixed penalty tickets were incurred by vehicles within the purview of his Department in the last year for which figures are available; and what the total cost was.

Gareth Thomas: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform operate a policy that road traffic violations such as parking tickets and speeding fines are the responsibility of staff, and are not reimbursed from public resources. No records are kept on any penalties incurred by their drivers on official business, and no financial cost has been incurred by the Department.
	The Government Car and Despatch Agency (GCDA) provide official vehicles for use by Ministers and senior officials within departments. I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Parliamentary under Secretary of State for Transport on 18 October 2007,  Official Report, column 1186W.

Macfarlan Smith: Monopolies

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform whether his Department has undertaken the analysis set out in paragraph 13 of the response of the Department for Trade and Industry to the Office of Fair Trading's review of undertakings by Macfarlan Smith Limited (SML), published in September 2006.

Gareth Thomas: The Home Office is responsible for licensing and has lead responsibility for implementing the Government Action Plan. The work to which the hon. Member refers—analysis of the effect of MacFarlan Smith Limited's position of customers in other countries—is ongoing.

Small Businesses: Closures

Lorely Burt: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform 
	(1)  how many small business closures there have been in each region in the last five years;
	(2)  how many small businesses have closed in the last five years during their first  (a) 12 months and  (b) five years of trading, broken down by region;
	(3)  what assessment he has made of the impact of the rate of small business closures on  (a) each region and  (b) England.

Stephen Timms: Data on small business closures by region is not available.
	However, data on the number of businesses of all sizes that de-register for VAT each year, and the proportion that remain registered for 1 and 4 years, in each UK region, are published by BERR.
	The following table shows the number of VAT de-registrations in each UK region and country 2001-05.
	
		
			  VAT de-registrations in each UK country and region 
			   De-registrations 
			   2001  2002  2003  2004  2005 
			 United Kingdom 155,890 162,405 165,530 163,400 152,945 
			 England 136,520 142,375 144,740 142,870 133,230 
			 North East GOR 4,110 3,995 4,010 3,850 3,600 
			 North West GOR 15,500 16,220 15,955 15,650 14,265 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber GOR 11,160 11,560 11,140 11,225 10,745 
			 East Midlands GOR 9,905 10,155 10,695 10,615 9,765 
			 West Midlands GOR 12,740 13,130 14,255 13,860 12,610 
			 East GOR 15,225 15,475 16,115 15,995 14,690 
			 London GOR 30,825 32,625 31,760 32,145 30,230 
			 South East GOR 23,970 25,410 26,540 25,855 24,605 
			 South West GOR 13,080 13,810 14,265 13,680 12,720 
			 Wales 5,465 6,425 6,670 6,015 5,555 
			 Scotland 10,955 10,820 10,930 10,920 10,160 
			 Northern Ireland 2,955 2,785 3,190 3,595 4,005 
			  Source:  Business Start-ups and Closures: VAT Registrations and De-registrations 1994-2005, available at: http://stats.berr.gov.uk/ed/vat 
		
	
	The following table shows the number of businesses that de-registered for VAT within one and four years of registration, for each UK region and country, by year of registration for the latest five years worth of available data. Data for five years after registration are not produced at regional level.
	
		
			  The number of VAT de-registrations within one and four years, by registration year, in each UK country and region 
			  Number de-registering for VAT within one year  2000  2001  2002  2003  2004 
			 United Kingdom 16,996 14,621 13,977 13,385 14,519 
			 England 14,992 13,003 12,306 11,778 12,685 
			 North East GOR 428 405 373 353 348 
			 North West GOR 1,870 1,583 1,356 1,254 1,428 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber GOR 1,188 1,120 1,070 983 1,045 
			 East Midlands GOR 1,150 945 898 911 941 
			 West Midlands GOR 1,314 1,257 1,197 1,138 1,198 
			 East GOR 1,463 1,282 1,301 1,218 1,300 
			 London GOR 3,887 3,407 3,197 3,075 3,285 
			 South East GOR 2,364 1,962 1,920 1,876 2,073 
			 South West GOR 1,369 1,041 1,058 1,014 1,038 
			 Wales 610 536 495 493 486 
			 Scotland 1,089 944 902 887 1,030 
			 Northern Ireland 249 220 244 235 332 
		
	
	
		
			  Number de-registering for VAT within four years  1997  1998  1999  2000  2001 
			 United Kingdom 72,524 74,340 71,651 71,920 65,966 
			 England 63,814 65,748 63,341 63,757 58,439 
			 North East GOR 1,661 1,691 1,720 1,757 1,618 
			 North West GOR 7,700 7,650 7,290 7,222 6,660 
			 Yorkshire and the Humber GOR 4,732 4,899 4,696 4,922 4,479 
			 East Midlands GOR 4,469 4,541 4,250 4,507 4,185 
			 West Midlands GOR 5,888 5,951 5,778 5,707 5,507 
			 East GOR 6,764 6,630 6,384 6,770 6,112 
			 London GOR 15,727 17,413 16,620 16,457 14,830 
			 South East GOR 11,085 11,188 10,836 10,782 9,892 
			 South West GOR 5,802 5,845 5,779 5,691 5,088 
			 Wales 2,431 2,435 2,350 2,491 2,241 
			 Scotland 5,092 5,086 4,832 4,583 4,315 
			 Northern Ireland 1,077 1,120 1,069 981 987 
			  Source:  BERR analysis of VAT and survival rate data 
		
	
	VAT registration and de-registration data for 2006 will be published on 14 November 2007. Survival data will not be produced again until 2009.
	New VAT registrations exceeded de-registrations in the UK (and in all regions) between 2001 and 2005. The stock of VAT registered businesses rose by 4 per cent. during the period.
	VAT registrations do not capture all business activity. Businesses are unlikely to be registered if they fall below the compulsory VAT threshold, which was £60,000 at the start of 2006. Similarly, businesses that de-register may not have closed. Only 1.9 million out of 4.5 million UK enterprises (41 per cent.) were registered for VAT at the start of 2006.
	Although data on the number of VAT de-registrations is routinely collected and monitored, there is currently no general information on the impact of business closures at regional and national level. However a study commissioned for the London Development Agency in 2005(l) showed that out of the 790,000 jobs lost through SMEs closing down in London between 2001 and 2003, 88 per cent. found immediate employment elsewhere, 8 per cent. went in self-employment and 1 per cent. into training. Only 3 per cent. went into unemployment.
	At appropriate levels, business closures are a necessary part of the productive churn process, creating space for more productive and innovative firms to expand, and therefore an important step in boosting regional and national productivity. Data on closures, including data at a regional level, is routinely collected and monitored.
	(1) Business Closures in London: Final Report, 2005, TBR Economics

Trade Union Political Funds

Francis Maude: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform what guidance his  (a) Department and  (b) the Certification Officer has produced on whether trade union members who opt out of the political fund should pay a different union membership fee from those who remain in the fund.

Patrick McFadden: The Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform has produced guidance on the law regarding political funds in a publication entitled 'Trade union political funds: a guide for trade unions, their members and others'. That guidance describes the law relating to the freedom of union members to contract out of paying the political levy.
	The Certification Officer has also produced guidance on this issue in a publication entitled 'Guidance for trade unions and employers' associations wishing to establish a political fond'.

Emergencies: Planning

Philip Hollobone: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what consideration has been given to potential  (a) enhancement of multi-agency response resilience and  (b) financial efficiencies, from combining the training offered by location of the Fire Service College and the Emergency Planning College on one site.

Parmjit Dhanda: Traditionally the Fire Service College has focused on specialist training for the Fire and Rescue Service at the operational (bronze) and tactical (silver) levels. With the need to develop and enhance national resilience the college has undergone a period of considerable change and there is now more focus on command and control of major incidents and on the exposure of Fire and Rescue Staff to multi agency working at the strategic (gold) level.
	We have invested significantly in new training facilities and student accommodation at the Fire Service College and it has a large and unique incident ground which would readily support multi agency working. There is already a degree of co-operation with the Emergency Planning College and, with closer collaboration having the potential to enhance the multi agency approach to large scale operational exercises and strengthen national resilience, the options for more joint working are being actively explored.

Fire Services: Firebuy

Andrew Stunell: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how much Firebuy Limited has spent on determining the  (a) items and  (b) item specifications of procurement on behalf of the Fire and Rescue Service; and over what period of time such determination was conducted.

Parmjit Dhanda: The costs of determining the  (a) items and  (b) items specifications of procurement on behalf of the Fire and Rescue Service cannot be quantified as separate components within the Firebuy Ltd. budget. These activities are intrinsic to Firebuy Ltd.'s purpose as the national procurement agency which develops user requirement specifications.
	Since Firebuy Ltd. was formerly established on 1 April 2006 it has spent approximately £1.5 million per annum on various procurement operations. This expenditure includes staff costs, project scoping, developing specifications, inviting and evaluating tenders from the market and awarding and managing contracts and framework agreements. Firebuy Ltd. has already delivered over lm savings since September 2005 when it was set up as Company Limited by Guarantee. Expected future benefits for Fire and Rescue Authorities are estimated at £10 million over the next five years.

Floods: Grants

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government whether councils receiving 100 per cent. Bellwin contributions following the recent flooding will have to pay for the Bellwin threshold contribution from their own resources.

John Healey: Yes. In keeping with the established principals of the Bellwin scheme we take the view—as have previous administrations—that it is reasonable to expect authorities to cover costs themselves up to a certain level. Every authority is required to maintain reserves, one of whose main purposes is to meet unexpected costs.
	The threshold above which an authority is eligible to claim Bellwin funding is 0.2 per cent. of its annual budget and is only applied once in the financial year. Therefore, if an authority exceeded its threshold in June and was hit by floods again in July it would not be required to spend up to the threshold in July before qualifying for grant. For the recent flooding, expenditure above the threshold will be eligible for 100 per cent. assistance from Government, and the Bellwin scheme announced for the recent flooding was, alongside that for the floods in 2000, the most generous ever announced.

Housing Market: Regeneration

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government what research has been commissioned by  (a) Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders and  (b) her Department into property speculation in Pathfinder areas earmarked for demolition.

Iain Wright: As part of an ongoing national evaluation of the market renewal programme by Ecotec commissioned by the Government a paper on buy-to-let activity was published in March 2007: "National Evaluation of Housing Market Renewal Pathfinders: Thematic Paper: Buy-to-Let Housing Market in the HMR Pathfinders".
	The thematic paper identified an increase in private investor activity within pathfinder areas since the implementation of the housing market renewal strategy. The emergence of this group of investors has had the impact of diversifying the structure of ownership within pathfinder areas. Commitment to the area has remained strong with the Association of residential Letting Agents (ARLA) reporting in 2004 that nearly two-thirds of respondents expected to hold their stock for at least 10 years and less than 10 per cent. would sell if house prices were to fall.
	We and the pathfinders will continue to review market conditions as a fundamental part of establishing strong housing markets across pathfinder areas.

Dredging

Ben Chapman: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  whether assessments of dredging applications take into account possible risks to neighbouring sites, such as estuaries;
	(2)  what assessment he has made of the effects on the Dee Estuary of dredging neighbouring sites.

Jonathan R Shaw: The control of dredging operations depends upon the type of dredging involved.
	Port and harbour authorities generally have provisions under their local powers (granted by means of Harbour Orders) within their jurisdiction to carry out or to licence others to conduct dredging activities—primarily for the purpose of securing or maintaining a safe navigation depth. Other dredging operations which may cause or be likely to result in obstruction or danger to navigation require consent under the Coast Protection Act 1949 (part II). Any disposal or beneficial placement of dredged arisings at sea is subject to licence control under the Food and Environment Protection Act 1985 (part II). In certain cases, dredging activity may also require consent under the Land Drainage Act 1991.
	Regulatory authorities, in dealing with such applications to dredge, have a duty to consider if the proposed project, because of its nature, size and location will have a significant environmental effect. If so, the application must be accompanied by an Environmental Statement and its determination will be subject to an environmental impact assessment—normally in accordance with the Marine Works (Environmental Impact Assessment) Regulations 2007. Environmental Statements are scoped to address all the aspects of the project which may be affected by the project, including, typically in the case of dredging:
	i. impacts on the physical environment, including coastal and estuary morphology, hydrodynamics, sediment transport, water quality and the fate of disposed materials
	ii. ecological effects, on fish and other flora and fauna arising, for example, from removal of sea bed species/habitat, the mobilisation of any contaminants, noise and changes to the physical environment
	iii. risk to protected conservation sites and other sensitive sites
	iv. impacts on birds—especially to those dependant on inter-tidal areas and disturbance to marine mammals
	v. interference to the interests of others using the sea and their assets, including other commercial uses, leisure activities, fishing, subsea cables and marine archaeology
	vi. the in-combination and cumulative effects of other works.
	Many potential dredging areas also lie within or adjacent to the boundaries of designated European conservation sites. If the regulating authority consider that the dredging project is likely to have a significant impact on such a site, an appropriate assessment of the possible risk to the integrity of that site must be carried out in compliance with the Conservation (Natural Habitats &c) Regulations 1994.
	The commercial exploitation of sand and gravel (aggregate dredging) is regulated under the Environmental Impact Assessment and Natural Habitats (Extraction of Minerals by Marine Dredging) Regulations 2007.
	In 2001, applications were made by the port of Mostyn to conduct dredging operations within the inner and outer approach channels to the port. A consultation paper was issued under a public notice summarising the assessments conducted by the regulating authorities.
	Authorisations were granted by the regulators in the summer of 2005 for a limited dredge over a period of two years. Each of the approvals granted were subject to conditions that included a rigorous programme of monitoring, the results of which are currently being assessed.

Foot and Mouth Disease: Compensation

James Paice: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the statement of 8 October,  Official Report, column 40, on foot and mouth/bluetongue, from what budget the £12.5 million assistance package will be drawn; and what proportion of this funding had been committed elsewhere previously.

Jonathan R Shaw: All expenditure relating to the foot and mouth disease and bluetongue outbreaks in 2007, including the £12.5 million assistance package, is being funded from within DEFRA's budget. DEFRA will manage these costs, as for all other in year pressures, within the overall budget allocated to it and will be reviewing priorities accordingly.

Foot and Mouth Disease: Compensation

Roger Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  from which of his Department's budget headings the funding for the package of support measures for English farmers announced on 8 October will be provided;
	(2)  what proportion of the package of support measures for English farmers announced on 8 October will be provided from budgets used to provide services or programmes in England and Wales.

Jonathan R Shaw: DEFRA will cover the cost of the package of support measures, as for all other in year pressures, within the overall budget allocated to it and will be reviewing priorities accordingly.

Departments: Policy

Norman Baker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what policy changes his Department has implemented since 27 June 2007.

Caroline Flint: The Department's objectives to eradicate child poverty, promote employment opportunity for all, and ensure pensioners have a secure retirement are some of the most challenging social ambitions ever set by government. This Department is constantly reviewing its policies to ensure that we meet these challenges, and we keep Parliament fully informed of any changes.
	Since 27 June, we have made a number of announcements. For example, on 18 July we published In work—better off which contains the Government's proposals on the next steps towards its aim of full employment. This was accompanied by a statement in the House. On 26 July, the Pensions Act 2007 received Royal Assent. Reforms in the Act will start to come into effect from 2010 onwards and will make state pensions simpler, fairer and more generous.

New Deal for Young People: Berkshire

Robert Wilson: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of participants in the new deal for young people in  (a) Reading,  (b) Wokingham and  (c) Berkshire returned to receiving jobseeker's allowance (i) immediately and (ii) within one year after leaving the new deal in (A) 2006 and (B) 2004.

Caroline Flint: The available information is in the following table.
	
		
			  Percentage of new deal for young people (NDYP) participants returning to receive jobseeker's allowance (JSA) after leaving new deal 
			   2004  2006 
			   Reading  Wokingham  Berkshire  Reading  Wokingham  Berkshire 
			 Immediately 9 n/a 11 11 14 14 
			 Within one year 33 29 32 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Notes: 1. The county of Berkshire consists of the unitary authorities of West Berkshire, Windsor and Maidenhead, Wokingham, Bracknell Forest, Reading, and Slough. 2. The number of people who left NDYP to return immediately to JSA in Wokingham in 2004 is too low to calculate a percentage. 3. Complete data is not yet available for the percentage of participants in 2006 who returned to JSA after leaving new deal to be calculated as JSA data is only available to February 2007. 4. All figures have been rounded to the nearest 10. 5. All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number.  Source:  Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions.

New Deal for Young People: Jobseekers Allowance

Stephen Crabb: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what percentage of participants in the new deal for young people in  (a) Pembrokeshire,  (b) Wales and  (c) the UK returned to receive jobseeker's allowance (i) immediately and (ii) within one year in (A) 2006 and (B) 2004.

Caroline Flint: holding answer 16 October 2007
	The available information is in the following table.
	Complete data is not yet available to allow the percentage of leavers in 2006 who return to JSA within one year to be calculated as the latest JSA data is available only to February 2007.
	
		
			  Percentage of new deal for young people participants returning to receive JSA 
			   2004  2006 
			   GB  Wales  Pembrokeshire  GB  Wales  Pembrokeshire 
			 Immediately returning to JSA 12 13 17 17 15 13 
			 Returning to JSA within one year 42 42 43 n/a n/a n/a 
			  Notes: 1. All figures have been rounded to the nearest ten. 2. All percentages are rounded to the nearest whole number. 3. Latest available data is to the end of February 2007. 4. Data is available for GB only 5. Data on participants returning to JSA within one year is not available for 2006 as benefit data is only available up to February 2007 and this would not allow 12 months to have passed for all leavers.  Source: Information Directorate, Department for Work and Pensions, 2007

Pension Service: Pensions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many members of the Pensions Service Board are entitled to a final salary pension.

Mike O'Brien: At the present time there are 10 members of the Pension Service Board of whom eight are entitled to a final salary pension. The two non executive members are not currently in the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme.

Pensions

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions pursuant to his answer of 16 May 2007,  Official Report, column 769W, on pensions, how many of the estimated number of people with pension losses are  (a) at or above age 65 years and  (b) at or above their scheme retirement age.

Mike O'Brien: The answer given by the former Minister of State (James Purnell) on 16 May 2007,  Official Report, column 769W, remains the best available estimate.
	We expect that updated estimates will be available in November.

Pensions: Complaints

Chris Grayling: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many complaints about handling of claims for the state pension the Pensions Service received in each of the last five years.

Mike O'Brien: The available information is in the following table.
	Complaints to The Pension Service are not categorised into benefit areas. The information given is for all complaints received in the last five years.
	
		
			  April to March  Total number of complaints received by the Pension Service 
			 2002-03 12,140 
			 2003-04 38,957 
			 2004-05 25,420 
			 2005-06 22,179 
			 2006-07 16,986 
		
	
	During 2003-04 The Pension Service embarked upon a series of workshops to emphasise the importance of recording and analysing feedback. This resulted in a significant rise in the feedback collected.

Acute Beds

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients were treated in each acute hospital in England in each year since 1997.

Ben Bradshaw: Data is not collected in the format requested on a total count of patients but a count of finished in-year admissions which is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider.
	A copy of the data that is available has been placed in the Library.

Airedale NHS Trust: Cancer

Gordon Prentice: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what assessment he has made of the proposed changes to oncology provision at Airedale NHS Trust; and if he will make a statement.

Ann Keen: Any decision on changes to the provision of cancer care at Airedale NHS Trust will be taken by the trust and its partner organisations in the Yorkshire Cancer Network, which coordinates services in the area and ensures that they appropriately meet the needs of the region. The trust has sought to engage with cancer patients and other stakeholders and to take account of their views and concerns throughout the process.

Alcoholic Drinks: Misuse

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many individuals aged 11 to 18 years resident in the Peterborough constituency were treated for alcohol-related health problems in each year since 1997.

Dawn Primarolo: Information is not available by constituency. However, the table following shows the number of finished admission episodes at the former Peterborough Hospital NHS Trust covering the period 1997-98 to 2003-04 and for the Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for the period 2004-05 and 2005-06, where there was a primary diagnosis of alcohol related disease for those aged between 11 to 18 at admission for the period 1997-98 to 2005-06.
	
		
			   Finished admission episodes 
			 1997-98 19 
			 1998-99 14 
			 1999-00 15 
			 2000-01 22 
			 2001-02 19 
			 2002-03 14 
			 2003-04 29 
			 2004-05 23 
			 2005-06 10 
			  Notes:  1. Finished admission episodes—A finished admission episode is the first period of in-patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that admissions do not represent the number of in-patients, as a person may have more than one admission within the year.  2. Diagnosis (Primary Diagnosis)—The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the HES data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital.  3. Data Quality—HES are compiled from data sent by over 300 national health service trusts and primary care trusts in England. The Information Centre for health and social care liaises closely with these organisations to encourage submission of complete and valid data and seeks to minimise inaccuracies and the effect of missing and invalid data via HES processes. While this brings about improvement over time, some shortcomings remain.   Source:  Hospital Episode Statistics (HES), Information Centre for health and social care. 
		
	
	Peterborough has a rate of 58.35 for persons admitted to hospital due to alcohol specific conditions (under 18s) crude rate per 100,000, 2003-04 to 2005-06. Persons admitted to hospital due to alcoholic specific conditions (under 18s), North West Public Health Observatory from HES and Office for national Statistics mid-year population estimates). Does not include attendance at A and E (not available nationally).
	This ranks Peterborough as 180 against all other local authorities in England and is higher than the regional average of 40.58.
	The Government are determined to prevent harm to those under 18 years of age and this is a priority group in Safe.Sensible.Social the national alcohol strategy June 2007. To help young people and their parents make informed decisions about drinking, the government will provide authoritative, accessible guidance about what is and what is not safe and sensible in the light of the latest available evidence from the UK and abroad. It will ensure that the laws and licensing powers protect young people and continue to prioritise reductions in the test purchase failure rate for under age sales of alcohol.

Benzodiazepines: Misuse

Brian Iddon: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many people who misuse benzodiazepines presented themselves for treatment to the statutory drug treatment services in each year since 2000.

Dawn Primarolo: The number of people in treatment for benzodiazepine addiction since 2004-05, in the years we have the information available, is shown in the following table. The data in the table from the national drug treatment monitoring system shows benzodiazepines as the main drug of use, and the secondary drug of use.
	
		
			  Benzodiazepine users 
			  Number 
			   Main drug  Second drug 
			 2004-05 2,343 7,338 
			 2005-06 2,666 9,337 
			 2006-07 2,548 10,245

Dental Services: Eastern Region

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many and what percentage of dentists in each county in the East of England are taking on new NHS patients.

Ann Keen: Data on dentists accepting new national health service patients is not collected centrally.

Departments: Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what guidance his Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members' correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Dawn Primarolo: I refer the hon. Member to the answer given by my hon. Friend the Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury (Angela Eagle) on 22 October 2007,  Official Report, columns 23-24W.

Departments: Official Visits

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health on how many occasions he has visited each region in an official capacity in the last 12 months.

Dawn Primarolo: The Secretary of State and other departmental Ministers all make regular visits to national health service and social care facilities, including hospitals, general practitioner practices and primary and community services.
	My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Alan Johnson) and the former Secretary of State (Ms Hewitt) visited the following regions in an official capacity in the last 12 months:
	
		
			   Number 
			 Yorkshire and Humber 3 
			 London 18 
			 North West 2 
			 South West 5 
			 North East 1 
			 East of England 2 
			 South Central 2 
			 South East Coast 1 
			 East Midlands 0 
			 West Midlands 3

Dietary Supplements: EU Law

David Tredinnick: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what the outcome was of  (a) the meeting between the Food Standards Agency and the European Commission on 12 September 2007 to discuss the interpretation and implementation of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive and  (b) the Working Group of the Council and Commission held on 24 September;
	(2)  if he will make a statement on his planned future actions in relation to the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements;
	(3)  if he will make a statement on progress in achieving his objectives for the setting of maximum permitted levels for nutrients in food supplements;
	(4)  when he next plans to visit a specialist health food retailer to discuss the possible impact of the setting of maximum permitted levels for nutrients in food supplements;
	(5)  whether officials of  (a) his Department and  (b) the Food Standards Agency plan to liaise with their counterparts in (i) the Republic of Ireland and (ii) each other EU member state to discuss their position on the setting of maximum permitted levels of nutrients in food supplements;
	(6)  if he will place in the Library a copy of the letters recently sent to the governments of  (a) Guernsey and  (b) Jersey by (i) the Food Standards Agency and (ii) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency in relation to the trade in food supplements and herbal remedies;
	(7)  when he expects the European Commission and Working Groups of the Council to bring forward figures for the permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements; who is participating in those working group discussions to represent the United Kingdom; what steps he is taking to influence other member state governments outside the working group meetings; when last he met the European Commissioner to discuss these matters; and if he will make a statement;
	(8)  what the conclusions were of the Food Standards Agency and Better Regulation Executive assessment of the regulatory impact on  (a) specialist manufacturers,  (b) specialist retailers and  (c) other businesses of the setting of maximum permitted levels for vitamins and minerals in food supplements under the provisions of Article 5 of the Food Supplements Directive; and if he will offer compensation to small and medium sized enterprises which suffer adversely as a result of the implementation of this legislation;
	(9)  what steps  (a) the Food Standards Agency and  (b) the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency plan to take in relation to the trade in food supplements and herbal remedies from the Channel Islands.

Dawn Primarolo: The Food Standards Agency (FSA) is responsible for food supplements issues and for negotiations relating to the European Commission (EC) Food Supplements Directive. No recent meetings have been held between Health Ministers and the European Commissioner concerning setting maximum permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements under this directive. Meetings will be held with stakeholders in early 2008 to discuss this issue.
	The bilateral meeting between the FSA and the EC on 12 September was held principally to gain insight into the Commission's intentions as regards the process by which maximum and minimum levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements would be set. The Commission indicated that an orientation paper on setting maximum and minimum levels which it had issued in late July would be the starting point for discussions at working group level, which began on 24 September.
	The aim of the first working group meeting of 24 September was for the Commission to obtain member states' initial views on the orientation paper. We have been advised by the FSA that general discussions on the orientation paper in the working group revealed that many member states are yet to establish views on many issues. The Commission has asked member states to consider some of the issues presented in the orientation paper in preparation for more detailed discussions at the next working group meeting which has provisionally been scheduled for November and will be attended by FSA officials. We have been informed by the FSA that the Commission intends to produce draft amending legislation with respect to permitted levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements by January 2009.
	We have been advised by the FSA that their officials met with their counterparts from the Republic of Ireland and other member states during, and in the margins of, the working group meeting on 24 September. The next working group meeting will provide further opportunity for bilateral discussions. The FSA currently has no additional meetings arranged to meet their counterparts in other member states outside working group meetings.
	The Government consider that the approach to regulation of food supplements should be safety-based and that consumers should have the right to make an informed choice unless their safety is compromised. Good progress has been made in promoting work carried out in the United Kingdom in establishing upper levels for vitamins and minerals and reference has been made to this in the Commission's orientation paper.
	We have been advised that the FSA is continuing its work on determining the potential economic impact of setting maximum levels to support future negotiations. In the absence of proposals from the Commission, a range of possible options is being considered. Until proposals are received and this work completed, the impact on small and medium sized enterprises of setting levels is unknown. We cannot, therefore, comment on the matter of compensation.
	There are no plans for Health Ministers to visit a specialist health food retailer to discuss the possible impact of setting of maximum levels of vitamins and minerals in food supplements.
	The FSA wrote to the governments of Jersey and Guernsey on 10 September concerning the trade in food supplements between these respective Crown Dependencies and the UK and suggesting a collective meeting with representatives of these governments. Copies of the letter sent by the FSA to the Bailiwick of Jersey have been placed in the Library. The release of the letter sent by the FSA to the Bailiwick of Guernsey is currently under consideration by the FSA under Section 36 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 which precludes copies being placed in the Library at this time.
	The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) believes that herbal remedies from the Channel Islands are subject to the Traditional Herbal Medicines Directive 2004/24/EC. The MHRA has already begun discussions about this with the Government of Guernsey and wrote to the Government of Jersey to open discussions on 28 June 2007. Copies of the MHRA's recent letters to the Bailiwick of Guernsey and letter to the Bailiwick of Jersey have been placed in the Library.

Hospitals: Cleaning Services

Mark Hoban: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  what central monitoring process will be used by his Department to monitor the deep cleaning of all hospitals over the next year;
	(2)  what monitoring documents officials in his Department plan to compile to assess the effectiveness of deep cleaning programmes for hospitals in tackling superbugs.

Ann Keen: There are no plans to centrally monitor the deep cleaning of hospitals. Arrangements for the programme are entirely a matter for local determination in discussions between trusts and their strategic health authority which will be allocating funding. There are also no plans to assess the effectiveness of deep-cleaning. Undertaking deep-clean is just one of a number of approaches trusts may take in tackling healthcare associated infections, and isolating the contribution of any one approach to assess its effectiveness would require activity in all others to cease.

Influenza: Vaccination

Mark Hunter: To ask the Secretary of State for Health 
	(1)  how many and what percentage of  (a) registered carers and  (b) people with diabetes in the Stockport Primary Care Trust area received an influenza vaccination in each year since 1997;
	(2)  how many pensioners received a free influenza vaccine in  (a) Cheadle constituency and  (b) Stockport Primary Care Trust area in each year since 1997; and what percentage each figure represents of those eligible in each year;
	(3)  how many free influenza vaccines  (a) are available for use,  (b) will be available for use by November 2007 and  (c) will be available for use by December 2007 in (i) Cheadle constituency and (ii) Stockport Primary Care Trust area.

Dawn Primarolo: Flu vaccine uptake data was collected for the first time in those aged 65 and over from 2000-01. Uptake data for those aged under 65 in an at risk group started in 2005-06 and for carers in 2006-07.
	Information is collected by primary care trust (PCT) and strategic health authority. Information is not collected by constituency.
	The number and percentage of those aged 65 and over, those aged under 65 with diabetes and carers who received a flu vaccine in Stockport PCT for which data was collected are shown as follows:
	
		
			   65 and over  Under 65 with diabetes  Carers 
			   Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage  Number  Percentage 
			 2000-01 29,885 64 — — — — 
			 2001-02 32,782 69 — — — — 
			 2002-03 34,225 72 — — — — 
			 2003-04 34,769 73 — — — — 
			 2004-05 33,475 75 — — — — 
			 2005-06 38,469 79 2,974 76 — — 
			 2006-07 34,953 77 2,698 71 490 54 
		
	
	The Department does not purchase flu vaccine on behalf of general practitioner (GPs). GPs, place orders for vaccine direct from the supplier of their choice. There are six suppliers of flu vaccine to the United Kingdom.

Junior Doctors: Working Hours

Andrew Lansley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what percentage of junior doctors worked a maximum of 48-hours a week in the latest period for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The new deal contract monitoring returns give an indication of national health service readiness for fully implementing the working time directive (WTD) 48-hour week for doctors in training. Monitoring information for 2006 is published on the NHS employers website at:
	www.Nhsemployers.org/pay-conditions/pay-conditions-467.cfm
	and showed that approximately 40 per cent. of doctors in training worked 48-hour week. The 2007 new deal information will be collected on 31 October 2007 by local NHS employers, then collated and published in early 2008.
	It is the responsibility of local employers to implement WTD as part of their health and safety obligations.

Mesothelioma: Merseyside

Peter Kilfoyle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many patients in Merseyside have been diagnosed with mesothelioma in each of the last five years, broken down by hospital trust.

Ann Keen: The information requested has been set out in the following table.
	
		
			  National health service hospitals in England, 2001-02 to 2005-06 
			   Wirral Hospital (RBL)  St. Helens and Knowsley Hospitals (RBN)  Cardiothoracic Centre—Liverpool (RBQ)  Aintree Hospitals (REM)  Clatterbridge Centre for Oncology (REN)  Royal Liverpool and Broadgreen University Hospitals (RQ6) 
			 2001-02 28 37 31 26 *** * 
			 2002-03 11 22 26 26 *** 7 
			 2003-04 10 14 50 20 *** * 
			 2004-05 33 24 46 17 136 * 
			 2005-06 22 10 62 27 100 * 
			  Notes: 1. Diagnosis (primary diagnosis) The primary diagnosis is the first of up to 14 (seven prior to 2002-03) diagnosis fields in the Hospital Episode Statistics (HES) data set and provides the main reason why the patient was in hospital. 2. Count of finished consultant episodes (FCEs) where the primary diagnosis was Mesothelioma** for selected Acute Trusts in Merseyside. ** The ICD-10 codes used in this analysis were as follows: C45 Mesothelioma D19 Benign neoplasm of mesothelial tissue 3. Data on FCEs is currently not available from 2001-02 to 2003-04 for Clatterbridge Centre of Oncology. 4. An FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one health care provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have more than one episode of care within the year. 5. Low numbers Due to reasons of confidentiality, figures between 1 and 5 have been suppressed and replaced with * (an asterisk). 6. Assessing growth through time HES figures are available from 1989-90 onwards. During the years that these records have been collected within the NHS there have been ongoing improvements in quality and coverage. These improvements in information submitted by the NHS have been particularly marked in the earlier years and need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. 7. Changes in NHS practice also need to be borne in mind when analysing time series. For example a number of procedures may now be undertaken in out-patient settings and may no longer be accounted in the HES data. This may account for any reductions in activity over time. 8. Ungrossed data Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data (i.e. the data are ungrossed).  Source: HES, The Information Centre for health and social care

Methicillin Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus: Eastern Region

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many cases of MRSA were reported in each hospital in the Eastern Region in each of the last five years.

Ann Keen: Data is not available for individual hospitals therefore we have provided data for acute national health service trusts in the Eastern Region. The following table provides data from the mandatory surveillance scheme of methicillin-resistant  Staphylococcus aureus, bloodstream infections in acute NHS Trusts in England.
	
		
			   April to March each year 
			  NHS Trusts  2002 - 03  2003 - 04  2004 - 05  2005 - 06  2006 - 07 
			 Basildon and Thurrock University Hospitals 38 30 42 36 24 
			 Bedford Hospital 19 26 9 32 27 
			 Cambridge University Hospitals 127 126 123 112 81 
			 East and North Hertfordshire 86 56 50 58 53 
			 Essex Rivers Healthcare 18 16 37 19 24 
			 Hinchingbrooke Healthcare 25 26 12 32 15 
			 Ipswich Hospital 52 52 51 43 51 
			 James Paget University Hospitals 36 30 50 41 27 
			 Luton and Dunstable Hospital 28 21 19 32 21 
			 Mid Essex Hospital Services 33 43 41 38 12 
			 Norfolk and Norwich University Hospital 57 64 58 58 48 
			 Papworth Hospital 24 13 7 14 7 
			 Peterborough and Stamford Hospitals 10 10 16 9 11 
			 Southend University Hospital 23 27 19 29 21 
			 The Princess Alexandra Hospital 37 32 44 20 25 
			 The Queen Elizabeth Hospital .King's Lynn 36 30 51 25 13 
			 West Hertfordshire Hospitals 40 45 53 51 42 
			 West Suffolk Hospitals 24 37 43 29 27 
			  Source: Health Protection Agency—provisional data

Neurology: Out of Area Treatment

David Jones: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how many persons resident in Wales were treated as  (a) in-patients and  (b) out-patients at the Walton Centre, Fazakerley, Liverpool in each of the last three years for which figures are available.

Ann Keen: The information requested has been set out in the following tables.
	
		
			  Count of finished consultant episodes (FCE) at the Walton Centre for neurology and neurosurgery NHS trust where the patient was resident in Wales 
			   FCE 
			 2005-06 1,025 
			 2004-05 870 
			 2003-04 875 
			  Notes: A FCE is defined as a period of admitted patient care under one consultant within one healthcare provider. Please note that the figures do not represent the number of patients, as a person may have one episode of care within the year. In-patients are defined as patients who are admitted to hospital and occupy a bed, including both admissions where an overnight stay is planned and day cases. Figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls in data—i.e. the data are ungrossed.  Source: Hospital Episodes Statistics (HES), The Information Centre for health and social care. 
		
	
	
		
			  2005-06 Count of out-patient appointments at the Walton Centre for neurology and neurosurgery NHS Trust where the patient was resident in Wales 
			  Attendance type  Appointment count 
			 Attendances 3,985 
			 Did not attend 328 
			  Notes: Out-patient data for 2003-04 and 2004-05 is not available as this was classed as provisional/experimental. The information above provides a count of the number of planned/booked appointments for out-patients. Attendance type identifies if the attendance occurred and if it was a first, subsequent, cancelled or did not attend. 99.9 per cent. of this field is complete. The figures have not been adjusted for shortfalls—i.e. the data are ungrossed.  Source: HES; Out-patients, The Information Centre for health and social care.

NHS Drugs

Henry Bellingham: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the number of individuals who were in receipt of controlled drugs through prescription in each of the last five years; and if he will make a statement.

Dawn Primarolo: It is not possible to say how many people were prescribed controlled drugs, as the data is not collected by individual. The number of national health service prescription items for controlled drugs dispensed in the community in England is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   Number of prescription items for controlled drugs (£000) 
			 2002 44,811 
			 2003 44,993 
			 2004 44,982 
			 2005 43,178 
			 2006 42,867 
			  Source: Prescription cost analysis system

Ophthalmic Services: Expenditure

David Simpson: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what the total cost of ophthalmic services in each of the regions was in each of the last three years.

Ann Keen: As part of the annual accounts process, primary care trusts and strategic health authorities (SHA) now show total resource expenditure on both primary and secondary care services in each of 23 clinical areas. The following table shows the programme budget data on one of those categories, eye/vision problems. This should include expenditure on primary care services provided through the general ophthalmic services, which provide sight tests and optical vouchers to those patient groups entitled to these national health service services, as well as the cost of secondary and additional primary care services directly attributable to problems relating to the eye and vision. The cost of any general practitioners consultations involving eye or vision problems is not separately quantified and is therefore not included in this data.
	
		
			  Programme budget data on expenditure on eye/vision problems in England, 2004-05 to 2006-07 
			  £000 
			  SHA code  SHA  2004-05( 1)  2005-06( 1)  2006-07 
			 Q30 North East Health Authority (HA) 73,558 69,074 76,377 
			 Q31 North West HA 220,567 210,838 209,352 
			 Q32 Yorkshire and the Humber HA 155,479 166,860 167,417 
			 Q33 East Midlands HA 100,705 110,896 104,695 
			 Q34 West Midlands HA 151,801 154,088 164,896 
			 Q35 East of England HA 145,270 151,673 146,988 
			 Q36 London HA 192,151 189,848 172,871 
			 Q37 South East Coast HA 103,140 108,149 107,019 
			 Q38 South Central HA 90,739 94,953 89,726 
			 Q39 South West HA 126,114 132,268 122,223 
			  England 1,359,524 1,388,646 1,361,565 
			 (1 )Data is configured to the 10 new strategic health authority areas; figures for 2004-05 and 2005-06 are obtained by grossing the figures from the former SHA configuration and may include some pro rata estimation.

Strategic Health Authorities: Reorganisation

Eric Pickles: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what plans he has to restructure the regional boundaries of the strategic health authorities.

Ann Keen: As my right hon. Friend the Secretary of State (Alan Johnson) announced on 4 July 2007,  Official Report, column 962
	"there will be no further centrally dictated, top-down restructuring to primary care trusts and strategic health authorities for the foreseeable future."

Suffolk Primary Care Trust: Pay

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by Suffolk Primary Care Trust on salaries and wages for  (a) general and senior managers,  (b) nurses and midwives and  (c) administrative and clerical staff in each year since its creation.

Ann Keen: Suffolk Primary Care Trust was established on 1 October 2006, therefore data is not available before then. Staff cost figures have been collected in the financial returns for 2006-07 but are still subject to validation. Figures should be available by the end of November 2007.

West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust: Pay

David Ruffley: To ask the Secretary of State for Health how much was spent by  (a) West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust and  (b) Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust on salaries and wages for (i) general and senior managers, (ii) nurses and midwives and (iii) administrative and clerical staff in each year since 1997.

Ann Keen: The expenditure on staff costs for managers and senior managers, nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff, and administrative and clerical staff for West Suffolk Hospitals NHS Trust and Ipswich hospital are shown in the following table. These are the only years that data is currently available by individual organisation.
	
		
			  £000 
			   1999-2000  2000-01  2001-02  2002-03  2003-04  2004-05  2005-06 
			 West Suffolk Hospital NHS Trust
			 Managers and senior managers 1,322 1,514 2,001 2,415 2,839 3,730 3,758 
			 Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 16,601 18,076 21,390 22,735 25,783 29,346 28,731 
			 Administrative and clerical staff 3,793 4,227 4,876 5,329 6,077 6,884 6,916 
			 Ipswich Hospital NHS Trust
			 Managers and senior managers 2,127 2,522 3,142 3,758 4,462 4,750 5,786 
			 Nursing, midwifery and health visiting staff 20,050 21,858 24,538 26,843 29,826 34,506 34,980 
			 Administrative and clerical staff 5,078 5,990 7,060 8,002 9,031 10,568 11,431 
			  Source:  Financial Monitoring and Analysis NHS Accounting

Children

David Willetts: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what the gender ratio was for children born in England and Wales in each income decile in the last year for which data is available.

Angela Eagle: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the National Statistician, who has been asked to reply.
	 Letter from Colin Mowl, dated 25 October 2007:
	The National Statistician has been asked to reply to your question on the gender ratio for children born in England and Wales in each income decile in the last year for which data is available. I am replying in her absence. (160492)
	In England and Wales parental income is not collected at birth registration. I am, therefore, unable to provide you with the statistics you have requested.

Departments: Overtime

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer how much was paid to staff in overtime in his Department in each of the last 12 months.

Angela Eagle: Staff are encouraged to make full use of HM Treasury's flexi-time working arrangement, which includes the option to take accrued excess hours as time off in lieu. However, where this has not been practical, the following table gives the amounts paid in overtime to HM Treasury staff m each of the past 12 months.
	
		
			  Month  Cost (£000) 
			 October 2006 30 
			 November 2006 51 
			 December 2006 93 
			 January 2007 98 
			 February 2007 52 
			 March 2007 183 
			 April 2007 30 
			 May 2007 70 
			 June 2007 42 
			 July 2007 37 
			 August 2007 30 
			 September 2007 15 
		
	
	The peaks in December 2006/January 2007 and March 2007 are due to Treasury staff working additional hours in preparation for the pre-Budget report in December 2006 and the annual Budget in March 2007.

Revenue and Customs: Theft

Mark Hoban: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer 
	(1)  how many laptops have been stolen from HM Revenue and Customs in the last 12 months;
	(2)  what disciplinary action has been taken further to the theft of a laptop computer from HM Revenue and Customs in September; and if he will make a statement on the rules concerning keeping laptop computers in cars by HM Revenue and Customs;
	(3)  what type of data was held on the laptop stolen from HM Revenue and Customs in September 2007; how many records were stored on the laptop; to which financial institutions the records applied; and to how many individuals the records applied.

Jane Kennedy: 41 laptops were stolen between October 2006 and September 2007, 16 of them during a break in at one of HMRC's offices.
	Some 9,500 laptops are issued to HMRC staff who work away from their offices. The Department takes all thefts very seriously and acts appropriately in accordance with its security procedures.
	I cannot comment on staff disciplinary matters or disclose information relating to the data held on stolen laptops.

Democratic Republic of Congo: Security

Stephen Williams: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what representations he has made to the government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) to guarantee the security of the civilian Tutsi community of eastern DRC during and after the military operations in the area.

Meg Munn: We continue to press the Government of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for a peaceful solution to the crisis in the east of the country to avert further humanitarian suffering.
	My noble Friend the Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, the right hon. Lord Malloch-Brown, met a delegation of advisers to President Kabila in London on 13 September and spoke to President Kabila at the UN on 26 September. On both occasions he encouraged the Congolese government to continue to look for a political solution to the problems affecting the east of the country rather than take a solely military approach, and to ensure the security of the local population.
	The UK is the largest donor of humanitarian aid to DRC, which is helping to alleviate some of the impact on civilians of the current insecurity in the east.

Departments: Correspondence

Bob Spink: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what guidance his Department follows on the maximum time taken to respond to hon. Members' correspondence; and what performance against that target was in the most recent period for which figures are available.

Meg Munn: I refer the hon. Member to the reply my right hon. Friend the Minister for the Cabinet Office and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (Edward Miliband) gave to him on 22 October 2007,  Official Report, column 45W.

Islam

David Gauke: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs whether his Department has received representations from governments abroad on the publication of material in the UK critical of Wahhabism.

Jim Murphy: The Saudi Ambassador to London wrote to my right hon. Friend the then Foreign Secretary (Margaret Beckett) on 17 January 2007 to express concern about the content of the Channel Four's Dispatches Programme: "Undercover Mosques". However, we have not received any specific representation from foreign governments about the publication of material in the UK that is critical of Wahhabism.